NASCAR Ready For Circuit of The Americas Races in May
NASCAR’s inaugural run at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas will take place May 21-23, and Speedway Motorsports, the event organizer, announced their entitlement partners today.
Sponsorships must be a term that’s passe these days, and so the entitlement partnerships made public were EchoPark Automotive, Pit Boss Grills, and FEVO. “The first-ever NASCAR at COTA race week is one of the most anticipated events on the 2021 NASCAR schedule,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “We are proud to announce new partnerships with EchoPark Automotive, Pit Boss grills and FEVO. These innovative, dynamic companies join us to introduce NASCAR fans around the world to Circuit of The Americas.”
EchoPark Automotive, is the used vehicle arm of Sonic Automotive, the fifth largest U.S. automotive retailer. Sonic and Speedway Motorsports were both founded and owned by Bruton Smith. As title sponsor for the NASCAR Cup Series road course race, it will be called the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix. Last weekend, at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 Daytona International Speedway road course, sophomore Cup Series driver Christopher Bell became a first-time race winner, taking the lead in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota over the Penske Racing Ford of Joey Logano with two laps to go, stretching his lead to 2.119-seconds at the finish. This marked the second time this season that a driver has won his first-ever Cup Series race, the first being Michael McDowell’s dramatic last-lap victory in the Daytona 500 in his Front Row Motorsports Ford.
COTA is a 3.41-mile long, 20-turn road course previously used by Formula 1 and IndyCar to host races in their respective series. Pit Boss Grills, a subsidiary of Danson’s Incorporated, stepped up as the title sponsor for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss 250, which will take place on Saturday, May 22nd. The Xfinity Series is primary feeder for the Cup Series, one in which many of tomorrow’s stars hone their talents. Dansons President Jeff Thiessen said, “Race fans love barbecue and grilling. As the official grill of NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports, we are proud to bring these audiences together.”
FEVO is the exclusive group ticketing platform for Speedway Motorsports at its group of speedways, and together they’ve conceived FEVO Friday, to highlight the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race, along with practice and qualifying runs for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and two practice sessions for the IMSA-sanctioned Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Series.
[Images: Shutterstock/Grindstone Media Group, COTA, COTA/R. Kevin Butts, COTA/Vinny Orest]
With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.
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I look forward to comparing the lap times to F1. Oh, wait, no, it's Indycar.
So the group that owns Texas Motor Speedway is having a "fan entitlement" weekend at COTA? This is entering the area of self-licking ice cream cone. It also shows how sponsorship for NASCAR and NASCAR events has plummeted.